The Art of Selling: Sales Protocol

“Sales Protocol”


There has to be order in Sales. Name a profession where this isn’t true. Changing the oil in the car. Going to the dentist. In Apollo 13 when Tom Hanks keeps asking Ed Harris, “what’s the protocol?”

Too often Sellers tell me that they show up and the rest happens naturally – shoot from the hip. Actually, they take the role of “teller,” when being an “asker” makes much more sense.

I always do a role-play when Training called “water in the trench.” The Seller isn’t allowed to mention any gottems – product knowledge – in the exercise. I inform the Seller, “there’s water in my trench.” And ask, “what have you got that can get it out?” The initial move is to suggest a pump of some sort to get the job done. Of course, that’s not allowed, as there can be no mention of gottems. Frustration sometimes builds as the folks attempt to solve this puzzle. Finally, someone asks, “how much water is in the trench?” And, I indicate a thimble-sized amount of fluid. Aha! It becomes clear. Why would anyone need a pump to remove that little water?

Well, the problem is that in our haste to provide solutions for our clients we frequently fail to understand the true nature of the problem. How often do we go, “READY, FIRE, AIM?”

There’s an order to what we should be doing in front of our Buyers. It’s called the “Sales Sequence” and it goes like this:


Sellers determine questions.


Questions determine Needs.


Needs determine what you sell them.


Get your selling in order right now. Know what you’re going to ask before you get infront of your customer and order will prevail.